Traumatic pharyngeal pseudodiverticulum in neonates and infants. Two case reports and review of the literature.

Thirty one cases of pharyngeal pseudodiverticulum have been reported in the literature; twenty nine were diagnosed during the neonatal period. Respiratory distress, increased oral secretions, difficulty with feeding and the impossibility of passing a nasogastric catheter were the most common symptoms and/or signs. Pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax, cervical emphysema and ectopic location of a feeding catheter, alone or in combination, were identified in the chest roentgenograms of 16 patients. Esophagography and/or endoscopy were the diagnostic methods of choice. The exact location of the perforation was identified in 18 patients. Most of the perforations were in either the posterior pharyngeal wall or in the pyriform sinuses. The survival rate was as good amongst the medically treated patients as in those who underwent surgery.